New Media and Civil Society

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. COURSE OVERVIEW. Examines how new media technologies shape civic participation, public discourse and/or social change across different political systems. Focus on communication practices in democratic, authoritarian and/or transitional societies. Considers how digital platforms enable organizing, surveillance, protest and/or community formation. Emphasizes theory-driven analysis of how online communication intersects with power, governance and collective life. Engagement with case studies from global and/or local contexts, including instances where media use is celebrated, contested or restricted. Course content and discussions may draw from different cultural or political contexts, including situations of disagreement or unrest, examined for purposes of understanding communication dynamics. RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION. Emphasizes the role of digital communication in public affairs, advocacy, crisis response and institutional communication. Builds awareness of how media strategies function in political campaigns, nonprofit initiatives, international development and grassroots organizations. Supports professional work in public communication, policy analysis, journalism, technology sectors and civic engagement. Provides academic grounding for advanced study in media, politics, globalization or communication. DEEPENING UNDERSTANDINGS. Complicates everyday assumptions about social media as inherently liberating or harmful. Encourages nuanced understanding of how digital tools can empower expression while reinforcing inequality or control. Highlights tensions between visibility and vulnerability, participation and manipulation. Models disagreement and controversy as part of understanding communication in public life rather than advocacy for a particular stance. TOPICS AND THEMES. May include study of civic participation and digital public spheres; analysis of social media activism, political protest and networked movements; examination of platform governance, censorship, surveillance and state messaging; consideration of misinformation, polarization, digital propaganda and extremist communication; exploration of online community-building, identity expression and digital inequalities; comparative perspectives across democratic, authoritarian and transitional societies. Course material may reference real-world cases involving political or cultural controversy, including but not limited to violence, hate speech or ideological conflict, for purposes of understanding how new media intersects with civic life, governance and social dynamics. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.